Videos and Interviews

17 December 2011

Podcast

Don Norman, a former Apple vice-president, co-founder of the Nielsen Norman Group, and one of the world's most influential designers, discusses his new book, Living With Complexity. Norman talks about differences between complexity, something being complicated, and simplicity, and suggests that people who bemoan "technology" don't actually seek simplicity. He also discusses differences between designing a product and designing a system, using examples of iPods and iTunes, the Amazon Kindle, and BMW's Mini Cooper -- products whose success depended upon the success of larger systems. Norman also notes the difference between a forcing function and a nudge, explains how complicated rules can weaken security, and comments on sociable design in realspace and on the internet.

(April 8, 2011) Don Norman speaks about complexity in everyday life and how design helps us understand and cope with complexity. Norman gives many examples of complexity and design working together to create understanding for the consumer and asks, "Why do we need complexity? Because what we really want is understanding, so, it's about design."

Welcome to the world of atoms. The human body is part of the physical world. It savors touch and feeling, movement and action. How else to explain the popularity of physical devices, of games that require gestures, and full-body movement? Want to develop for this new world? There are new rules for interacting with the world, new rules for the developers of systems.

Article by Charles Arthur, Technology Editor of the Guardian (UK) Newspaper, based, in part, on an interview with me.

You don't have to go far on the web or even everyday life to find people happy to say it: they hate Steve Jobs and all he stood for, and those who buy things from Apple - the "sheeple", in an oft-used phrase - are simply buying stuff for no reason than its marketing, or advertising. Apple, they say, is a giant con trick.